--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are torn between a nostalgia for the…" description: "\"“We are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/carson-mccullers-1694_homesick_we-are-torn-between-a-nostalgia-for-the_437804.jpg" --- # We are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an… ![“We are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known” quote by Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/carson-mccullers-1694_homesick_we-are-torn-between-a-nostalgia-for-the_437804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/carson-mccullers-1694_homesick_we-are-torn-between-a-nostalgia-for-the_437804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/carson-mccullers-1694_homesick_we-are-torn-between-a-nostalgia-for-the_437804.jpg) > ““We are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known”” [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We long for the known while also craving the unknown, making us nostalgic for places we never experienced. **In simple terms:** We feel nostalgic for both familiar and unknown places. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity while appreciating familiar comforts. Themes nostalgia curiosity identity longing Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - travel planning - reading new cultures - personal reflection - creative projects Key Concepts psychology cultural longing self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - What unknown place draws you most? - How do you balance familiarity with novelty? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can hinder genuine exploration if it ideal idealizes the unknown. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Homesick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homesick/) [Homesick Places](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homesick-places-2196499/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Strange Homesick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-homesick-2187862/) [Torn Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torn-nostalgia-2334222/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [“The emotion is Janus-faced: we are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-emotion-is-janus-faced-we-are-torn-between-a-nostalgia-for-the/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [It is a curious emotion, this certain homesickness I have in mind. With Americans, it is a national trait, as native to us as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-is-a-curious-emotion-this-certain-homesickness-i-have-in-mind-with/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [We are homesick most for the places we have never known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/we-are-homesick-most-for-the-places-we-have-never-known/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [He felt homesick for places he had never been. He missed hearts he had never loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-wentz/he-felt-homesick-for-places-he-had-never-been-he-missed-hearts-he-had/) [Pete Wentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-wentz/) > [We are homesick for places, we are reminded of places, it is the sounds and smells and sights of places which haunt us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gussow/we-are-homesick-for-places-we-are-reminded-of-places-it-is-the-sounds/) [Alan Gussow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gussow/) > [I do not have any home. So why should I be homesick?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-do-not-have-any-home-so-why-should-i-be-homesick/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“There's just something about the way he sings. It makes me think of when it snows outside, and the fire is warm, and Podo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-peterson/there-s-just-something-about-the-way-he-sings-it-makes-me-think-of/) [Andrew Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-peterson/) > [“Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/maybe-when-people-longed-for-a-thing-that-bad-the-longing-made-them/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/every-time-we-walk-along-a-beach-some-ancient-urge-disturbs-us-so/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Have you ever been homesick for someplace that doesn't actually exist anymore? Someplace that exists only in your mind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/have-you-ever-been-homesick-for-someplace-that-doesn-t-actually-exist/) [Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/) > [Russia is the only country of the world you can be homesick for while you're still in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/russia-is-the-only-country-of-the-world-you-can-be-homesick-for-while/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“You remember how homesick I used to get, and what long talks we used to have coming from school? We've someway always felt alike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/you-remember-how-homesick-i-used-to-get-and-what-long-talks-we-used/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“The Germans are sentimental. Their word Heimweh . The English say homesick; the same in plain Swedish. Hemsjuk . Leave it to the Germans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-germans-are-sentimental-their-word-heimweh-the-english-say/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I'm homesick everywhere I go, but England has a negative effect on my spirit to a profound degree. That trip from Heathrow into London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kozelek/i-m-homesick-everywhere-i-go-but-england-has-a-negative-effect-on-my/) [Mark Kozelek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kozelek/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) ## More by Carson McCullers > [“Because things accumulate around your name," said Berenice. "You have a name and one thing after another happens to you, and you behave in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/because-things-accumulate-around-your-name-said-berenice-you-have-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [It was like she was cheated. Only nobody had cheated her. So there was nobody to take it out on. However, just the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-was-like-she-was-cheated-only-nobody-had-cheated-her-so-there-was/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Love is a joint experience between two persons—but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/love-is-a-joint-experience-between-two-persons-but-the-fact-that-it/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The thinking mind is best controlled by the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-thinking-mind-is-best-controlled-by-the-imagination/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had left for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term-in-prison-or-had-been-to/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Comparing the Brooklyn that I know with Manhattan is like comparing a comfortable and complacent duenna to her more brilliant and neurotic sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/comparing-the-brooklyn-that-i-know-with-manhattan-is-like-comparing-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Son, do you know how love should be begun?" The boy sat small and listening and still. Slowly he shook his head. The old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/son-do-you-know-how-love-should-be-begun-the-boy-sat-small-and/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-most-fatal-thing-a-man-can-do-is-try-to-stand-alone/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The dimensions of a work of art are seldom realized by the author until the work is accomplished. It is like a flowering dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-dimensions-of-a-work-of-art-are-seldom-realized-by-the-author/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Now hoppin'-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/now-hoppin-john-was-f-jasmine-s-very-favorite-food-she-had-always/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [There's nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/there-s-nothing-that-makes-you-so-aware-of-the-improvisation-of-human/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/maybe-when-people-longed-for-a-thing-that-bad-the-longing-made-them/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“But the music did not come again. The tune was left broken, unfinished. And the drawn tightness she could no longer stand. She felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/but-the-music-did-not-come-again-the-tune-was-left-broken-unfinished/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“...we must remember that we all make the things of this earth of value because of labor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/we-must-remember-that-we-all-make-the-things-of-this-earth-of-value/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I have more to say than Hemingway, and God knows, I say it better than Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-have-more-to-say-than-hemingway-and-god-knows-i-say-it-better-than/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) [Explore all 211 Carson McCullers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## More Homesick quotes > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [I'm homesick everywhere I go, but England has a negative effect on my spirit to a profound degree. That trip from Heathrow into London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kozelek/i-m-homesick-everywhere-i-go-but-england-has-a-negative-effect-on-my/) [Mark Kozelek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kozelek/) > [“The Germans are sentimental. Their word Heimweh . The English say homesick; the same in plain Swedish. Hemsjuk . Leave it to the Germans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-germans-are-sentimental-their-word-heimweh-the-english-say/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“You remember how homesick I used to get, and what long talks we used to have coming from school? We've someway always felt alike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/you-remember-how-homesick-i-used-to-get-and-what-long-talks-we-used/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Russia is the only country of the world you can be homesick for while you're still in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/russia-is-the-only-country-of-the-world-you-can-be-homesick-for-while/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Have you ever been homesick for someplace that doesn't actually exist anymore? Someplace that exists only in your mind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/have-you-ever-been-homesick-for-someplace-that-doesn-t-actually-exist/) [Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/) > [Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/every-time-we-walk-along-a-beach-some-ancient-urge-disturbs-us-so/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Everyday I feel homesick for a place that dosnt exist...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-chable/everyday-i-feel-homesick-for-a-place-that-dosnt-exist/) [Ana Chable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-chable/) > [“ It's a world full of terror and beauty (here her writing became so small Meggie could hardly make it out) and I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/it-s-a-world-full-of-terror-and-beauty-here-her-writing-became-so/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [It is a curious emotion, this certain homesickness I have in mind. With Americans, it is a national trait, as native to us as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-is-a-curious-emotion-this-certain-homesickness-i-have-in-mind-with/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Me: I like being outside at night. It gives me this weird feeling, like I'm homesick but not for home. It's kind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/me-i-like-being-outside-at-night-it-gives-me-this-weird-feeling-like/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I do not have any home. So why should I be homesick?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-do-not-have-any-home-so-why-should-i-be-homesick/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I had spent my whole life feeling homesick. The only difference between the two of us was that I didn't know what or where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-had-spent-my-whole-life-feeling-homesick-the-only-difference/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [When I was 12 years old, or however old I was when Bringing It All Back Home came out, I'd just skip back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-crowell/when-i-was-12-years-old-or-however-old-i-was-when-bringing-it-all/) [Rodney Crowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-crowell/) > [One thing I wish I'd done differently in my career is insist on having friends or family on tour. I was really young when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-nurding/one-thing-i-wish-i-d-done-differently-in-my-career-is-insist-on/) [Louise Nurding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-nurding/) [Browse all 169 Homesick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homesick/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. 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